Due to the fact that there was no qualifying blue marlin in last years Gulf Cup, 2016 Gulf Cup starts with $19,200 in the Pot!!!! Boats who participated in last years Gulf Cup must re-enter. The Gulf Cup is a Qualifying event for King of the Hill.

Palm Beach, FL—For most Americans, the Fourth of July holiday weekend is a summertime rite of passage: family cookouts, fireworks and good friends. For the team fishing on the 58-foot Sculley, Mojo, it’s also one for the record books, as they were named the winners of the first annual Gulf Cup Fourth of July Blue Marlin Shootout. Modeled after the World Cup, teams from across the Gulf of Mexico could enter and fish for eight hours in their time zone for a shot at some big bucks (the prize money would go to the biggest qualifying blue marlin, winner take all) as well as bragging rights to see which state would stake a claim for the event’s perpetual trophy.

The Mojo, owned by Will Lett and captained by Brian Phillips, hooked up late in the day in a move that was almost anticlimactic. Another boat, Jon Gonsoulin’s Done Deal, had hooked a good-sized blue marlin earlier in the day and had fought the beast through the afternoon before reporting that its’ measurement was just two inches too short (Gulf Cup rules state that the minimum short length for qualifying blue marlin is 110 inches; the Done Deal’s marlin taped out at just 108 inches from the tip of the lower jaw to the fork of the tail). That’s when Phillips on the Mojo called in a crashing strike on a trolled artificial lure in the mid-afternoon—they were hooked up! A short while later came another relay call that they had boated the marlin, which had a short length of 110.5 inches and a 60-inch girth. However, they had about five hours’ running time to the scales in Port Aransas, Texas.

Upon arrival it was clear they had landed a very respectable blue marlin. As the weighmaster at Fisherman’s Wharf carefully raised the fish from the cockpit, the digital readout settled on 501 pounds even. As the July 4th fireworks exploded in the night sky, the team celebrated a hard-fought victory.

The following day, Tournament Director Robert “Fly” Navarro arrived from the event’s temporary base in New Orleans to present Lett and the rest of the Mojo team a check for $14,400. Perhaps even more important, he also presented the Fisherman’s Wharf weigh station a custom perpetual trophy from marine artist David Wirth, officially giving Port Aransas and the state of Texas bragging rights as being home to the largest blue marlin caught on the Fourth of July in the Gulf of Mexico for one year.

“We had an absolutely incredible event this year,” Navarro reported. “We were very unlucky with the weather—there was a large trough of low pressure that caused high winds and seas in the eastern half of the Gulf and forced most of the boats in the fleet to cancel until next year, but those who did fish in the western Gulf found reasonably calm seas and great fishing. Now we’ll go to work on promoting this event year-round and we’ll be ready with an even bigger and better tournament for the Fourth of July, 2014.”

Navarro related that the tournament’s Facebook page, up for less than 12 months, had attracted over 12,000 followers, many of whom could witness the action in near real-time thanks to the constant updates from the tournament staff. “While the Done Deal was fighting their fish, they were close enough to some of the oil and natural gas rigs in the Gulf that they had cell phone service,” he said, “so they were able to send us photos and text messages for the Facebook page, which was incredibly popular.”

For more information on The Gulf Cup Fourth of July Blue Marlin Shootout, visit www.thegulfcup.com.

BRIEF OVERVIEW: A broad trough of low pressure is expected to drift west across the Gulf for the July 4th Gulf Cup. This will set up moderate to fresh S/SE winds and unsettled weather over portions of the east and central Gulf for the event. Much lighter and more variable winds are forecast over the western Gulf.

DETAILED ANALYSIS: The Fishtrack/Buoyweather meteorology team continues to watch an area of unsettled weather over the eastern Gulf associated with low-pressure troughing both at the surface and aloft.

We expect broad surface troughing to drift W over the Gulf through the day of the Gulf Cup. As a result, moderate to strong S to SE winds and the main shower/thunderstorm activity will shift W over the Central Gulf. Contestants leaving out of areas between Panama City, FL and Venice, LA should monitor detailed forecasts on Buoyweather.com to see how this may impact local conditions. Generally speaking, an area of 15-25kt S/SE winds and 5-7ft seas is expected over portions of the region between the Yucatan Peninsula and the Florida Panhandle. The potential for higher winds/seas also exists over this region in areas of enhanced shower and thunderstorm activity. In addition, some of the computer models are indicating even stronger winds/seas over the North Central Gulf along with a closed surface low pressure system early Thursday – so please stay tuned for tomorrow’s update for further information.

Elsewhere, tamer conditions are currently forecast both well to the east and especially west of the above area over the Central Gulf. Much tamer winds/seas are likely for the far NW Gulf as a decaying frontal boundary leaves light NE to variable winds over the region and seas mainly less than 3ft. Please visit buoyweather.com for detailed point forecasts.

TROPICAL OUTLOOK: The above-mentioned unsettled weather over the eastern Gulf is non-tropical in nature. Regardless of its classification, contestants should continue to monitor its evolution as it will likely lead to areas of enhanced S winds/seas and showers/thunderstorms south of the Florida Panhandle, Alabama, Mississippi, and SE Louisiana. Otherwise, the tropics are quiet at this time.

Figure 2. Mean sea level pressure, winds, and precipitation for the morning of July 4. This is from the GFS model, which is showing a more pronounced low-pressure area nearing Mobile, Alabama along with stronger SE/S winds. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s update for further info, as there are some differences in the models at this time.

Figure 3. MODIS AQUA Chlorophyll image taken yesterday (07/01/2013) showing clear water (blue) and dirty/mixed water inshore and south of the Mississippi river delta.

BRIEF OVERVIEW: Unsettled weather and gusty winds are currently over the eastern half of the Gulf associated with a broad trough of low pressure. This activity is expected to drift west into the Central Gulf through July 4. A weak front is over the NW Gulf and is expected to drift NW and weaken through the Gulf Cup. This pattern is expected to lead to moderate to fresh SE/S winds over the Eastern Gulf with lighter and more variable winds for the W and NW Gulf on July 4.

DETAILED ANALYSIS: The main item the Buoyweather/Fishtrack meteorology team is currently watching is the area of unsettled weather impacting the Gulf waters east of 87W. Widespread showers and thunderstorms are over this region along with gusty S to SW winds. This activity is primarily associated with an upper level trough of low pressure extending south from the Tennessee River Valley, which is supporting both a weak surface front over the NW Gulf and a surface trough over the NE Gulf.

We expect surface troughing to drift W through the day of the Gulf Cup. As a result, moderate to fresh S winds and the main shower/thunderstorm activity will also shift W over the Central Gulf. Contestants leaving out of areas between Pensacola, FL and Venice, LA should monitor detailed forecasts on Buoyweather.com to see how this may impact local conditions. Generally speaking, an area of 15-25kt S/SE and 5-7ft seas winds is expected over portions of the region between the Yucatan Peninsula and Central Gulf Coast/western Florida Panhandle. The potential for higher winds/seas also exists over this region in areas of enhanced shower and thunderstorm activity.

Elsewhere, tamer conditions are currently forecast both well to the east and especially west of the above area over the Central Gulf. Much tamer winds/seas are forecast for the far NW Gulf as a decaying frontal boundary leaves light NE to variable winds over the region and seas mainly less than 3ft. Please visit buoyweather.com for detailed point forecasts.

TROPICAL OUTLOOK: The above-mentioned unsettled weather over the Gulf is non-tropical in nature. Regardless of its classification, contestants should continue to monitor its evolution as it will likely lead to areas of enhanced S winds/seas and showers/thunderstorms. Otherwise, the tropics are quiet at this time.

Figure 1. Visible satellite image from Monday afternoon.

Figure 2. Wave height forecast for the morning of the Gulf Cup showing enhanced seas north of the Yucatan Peninsula, with lower seas over the SE and NW Gulf.

When it comes to following the action at this year’s event, we’ve got you covered. WJHG-TV News 7, the local NBC affiliate will have nightly recaps during the sports portion of the news. CatchStat will be scoring the Friday and Saturday night weigh-ins live on the internet and we’ll be streaming live video throughout the event.

In addition, this year, for the first time, we’ll have nightly updates by Capt. Dave Lear posted on the website. Just go to www.fishecbc.com and click on the Live Coverage link at the top of the page for all the news! And don’t forget to follow us on Facebook & Twitter!

The Gulf Cup Blue Marlin Shootout: Winner Takes All on July 4th!
Which State Wins the Cup?

The Gulf of Mexico, United States—The Gulf Cup Blue Marlin Shootout pits not only the best fishing teams in the region against one another but also the associated marinas and even the states of the Gulf Coast in a new one-day, winner-take-all event to be held on the Fourth of July. At stake is a year’s worth of bragging rights in addition to significant prize money based on the number of participating boats.

The competition will be twofold: the team with the largest blue marlin takes home the cash but the city, state and even the weigh station that weighs the winning fish will take home the prestigious Gulf Cup trophy and bragging rights for the next twelve months. Imagine the tourism departments in each state printing the headlines the following day that the state of Texas (or Louisiana, Alabama, Mississippi or Florida) has won the prestigious Gulf Cup, proving that the billfishing off their shores is indeed the best in the Gulf of Mexico.

The fishing boundaries will range from off South Padre Island, Texas to Key West, Florida, with lines in the water at 7:00 a.m. on July 4, 2013 and lines out at 4:30 p.m. (within each participating boat’s time zone). There are eight established weigh stations: two in Texas, three in Florida and one each in Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana. The Texas locations are the Pelican Rest Marina in Galveston as well as the Fisherman’s Wharf Marina in Port Aransas; in Louisiana, Cypress Cove Marina in Venice; the Mississippi weigh station is at Barksdale Pavilion in Gulfport; for the state of Alabama it will be Orange Beach Marina, Orange Beach; and in Florida there will be weigh stations at Harbor Walk in Destin, Galati Yacht Sales in Anna Maria and Conch Harbor, Key West. The entry fee is just $3,000 per team and it’s winner take all!

The Tournament Director for this event is Robert “Fly” Navarro, a well-known and well respected member of the fishing community who has fished the marlin-rich waters of the world throughout his life. Navarro believes that the Gulf anglers, captains and mates can compete with anyone, anywhere and at any time. He has chosen a 110-inch minimum size for this event due to his conservation ethic as well as the fact that significant angling skills are required to land a blue marlin of that size. “We don’t want to see a lot of fish boated so with a 110-inch minimum we feel that this will lead to a 95 percent or greater release percentage,” he says. “This is a big-fish tournament, the way it should be in the Gulf of Mexico!”

There’s no better way to celebrate the Fourth of July than fishing for big blue marlin in the Gulf. For more information and to register for the Gulf Cup Blue Marlin Shootout, visit www.thegulfcup.com.

Pelican’s Rest Marina owner Buddy Schultz has committed $10,000 Cash to the Captain and topping the boat with fuel if The Gulf Cup winner is weighed at The Pelican’s Rest Marina. Pelican’s Rest is the only IGFA Certified Marina in the Gulf of Mexico.

Mission: As a privately funded event, we have tried hard to grow the show year after year for our local community to enjoy with
family and friends. However, we could not have done this alone. Many families in Rockport, as well as friends from all over Texas
have contributed to make its success possible and its growth visible for all to enjoy.

We hope that the Wendell Family Fireworks tradition has been such a memorable part of your 4th of July celebration that you will
consider being a donor for our 2013 fireworks show.

This year, we are excited to celebrate its 48th anniversary, and blast off on Thursday night, the 4th of July. The show is set to start
at dark, around 9:30PM, and is promised to be one of the best yet!!

Wayde, Shawn, Jill and extended family member George More will continue the Wendell Family Fireworks tradition…generation after
generation…in honor of Jerry and Jan Wendell and with gratitude for the community’s strong support.
Over the years, the show has grown tremendously to be a privately funded effort. Our friends in Rockport and the monetary support
of the surrounding communities have made the success and growth possible. The community’s generosity in the past has been so
appreciated and has gone a long ways in helping fund our event. We hope that you will consider being one of our 2013 donors.